


A Little Tenderness

by looneyngilo2, Lucifuge5



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Audio Format: M4B, Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming, Community: hc_bingo, Community: pod-together, Hurt/Comfort, Kink Bingo 2013, M/M, Party Favor, Podfic, Tentacles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-07
Updated: 2013-09-07
Packaged: 2017-12-25 08:53:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/951142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/looneyngilo2/pseuds/looneyngilo2, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucifuge5/pseuds/Lucifuge5
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>They were pale blue when they first appeared on the sides of Ray's torso at age 10. As Ray's gotten older, the blue is a darker, richer hue.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Little Tenderness

**Author's Note:**

  * For [argentumlupine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/argentumlupine/gifts).



[MP3](http://pod-together.parakaproductions.com/2013/A%20little%20tenderness-Looneyngilo2,%20Lucifuge5.mp3)  
[M4B](http://pod-together.parakaproductions.com/2013/A%20little%20tenderness-Looneyngilo2,%20Lucifuge5.m4b)

* * *

Ray is elbow-deep in suds, cleaning up last night's dishes as he waits for the coffee to finish brewing. He scrubs the remains of last night's Masaman curry and jasmine rice off the plates, his fingertips prune-y and slippery. Then, he picks up the plates with the two tentacles on his right, rinsing them before placing them carefully on the rack to his side.

It's a mindless task, really. Frank enjoys watching him, though. The novelty of Ray's tentacles and the way he can move them hasn't worn off after years of knowing each other. ("This explains _so_ much," Frank said with an amused tone the first time he saw them. Up until that moment, Ray had been careful about hiding his tentacles around anyone who wasn't family.) Slightly thicker than his forearms, each tentacle tapers off to a tip. They were pale blue when they first appeared on the sides of Ray's torso at age 10. As Ray's gotten older, the blue is a darker, richer hue.

He hums a couple of bars of a song he's been working on for about a week now. It's a poppier sound than what everyone would expect from an hardcore Iron Maiden fan like him. The beat's catchier than anything MCR's done before. 

He brushes back a few curls with a tentacle, wanting to finish so that he can sit down with his guitar. It's a little past noon but the house is quiet. He'd left Frank softly snoring in their bed. The dogs chase each other in the backyard. A faint buzz from someone mowing their lawn filters through the kitchen windows. One of his tentacles taps out a steady beat on the counter. The longer bridge _does_ work better than the shorter one. He jumps a little when the coffeemaker beeps after the brew is done.

There's still a pile of dishes to go through before he can move on. Ray sighs at the idea of having to stop the dishwashing to tend to the coffee.

One glance over his left shoulder later, he makes up his mind. He gets two cups from the cabinet next to him with one of his free tentacles, the song in his mind distracting him a little. Reaching out to the coffee pot doesn't take much concentration. However, curling the end of the tentacle around the handle does. Ray doesn't realize his mistake until the coffee pot tips over and spills freshly brewed dark roast over his tentacle. 

"Motherfucker!"

He drops the bowl, his tentacles retracting towards him at once. There's coffee all over the counter, the coffee pot slowly rolling to a stop against the sugar container. Ray considers dropping paper towels to soak up the mess but his tentacle _hurts_ too much to care. It is true that the skin on his tentacles is slightly tougher than on the rest of his body but not by much. He holds his tentacle under the running water, hissing as the cool liquid touches the burned area.

"What's wrong? What happened?" 

Ray turns his head toward Frank and then back to the tentacle. "Spilled the coffee," he mumbles embarrassed. "Didn't mean to wake you."

Frank shakes his head. "Let me take a look, Ray." Frank's tone is sure but calm as he turns off the water. "Hmm, looks like all you need is a little ointment," he says, turning the tentacle this way and that. "There's some left in our bathroom. Come on," he says, holding one of Ray's unharmed tentacles, leading him down the hallway and through their darkened bedroom. He flicks the lights on. "Sit." He jerks his chin at the lowered toilet lid before opening and closing cabinets.

Ray's nose tickles when the pungent smell of the first-aid cream reaches his nostrils. Frank makes a face as he pours a glob of the ointment and rubs his hands together. Using the same careful movements as when he's putting his favourite guitar back in its case, Frank grabs the tentacle and rubs his fingertips all over the tender area. His touch is gentle.

Ray lets his mind wander, taking in the pillow creases on Frank's face, the chaos of his bed head, and the barely-there stubble on his jaw. In the silence of the bathroom, Ray feels his heart expanding, filling up with emotion at Frank's care of him. Two of his tentacles wrap around Frank's legs. "I'm sorry," he says, his voice small. 

"Eh, we all have our days," Frank replies casually. "Besides, you look after me whenever I'm delirious and phlegmy." He raises an eyebrow. 

"Thank you," Ray says. Very few of the people who _know_ about the tentacles feel comfortable enough to touch them. Having always been a very 'handsy' person, Frank's initial reaction to Ray's tentacles amounted to a curious look and an offer to arm/tentacle wrestle.

Ray's face grows hot as he remembers their first kiss: the not-so-gentle squeeze he gave Frank, pulling him against his body with arms and tentacles, the soft _hell, yeah_ Frank sighed against Ray's lips when one of his tentacles slid under Frank's t-shirt, his total lack of freak-out about the situation, and his acceptance of Ray as he is, extra bits and everything.

"There. You'll be ready to loop this bad boy around my wrists in no time. I'd kiss it better if that meant not getting any of that goo on my lips," Frank says, winking at Ray as he massages in the remainder of the salve.

Ray looks up at Frank and flexes his tentacles, pressing a third one in between Frank's shoulders until Frank bends at the waist, low enough for a brief kiss. 

"How about you let our doggies in," Frank says in between kisses, "I help you clean up in the kitchen and then we have a lazy morning in bed? We can play naughty doctor."

"It's afternoon," Ray whispers, tilting his head to the side, moaning softly when Frank leaves a trail of kisses along Ray's jaw.

"Even better," Frank answers. "I'm all about the brunch."

Ray snorts. "Right. And you also want to play with these," he says, his tentacles tightening their grip around Frank's legs.

"It'd only be fair," Frank replies. 

Rather than sass back, Ray lets go of Frank. "Doggies, kitchen and then bed," he says, standing up and ignoring his growing hard-on. The sooner they tackle the first two things, the sooner they can roll around in bed. 

Frank grabs one of Ray's tentacles and kisses the tip. "I like the way you think."

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> From Lucifuge5: I couldn't get the idea of Ray having tentacles out of my head. That it wasn't sexy!tentacles amused me and puzzled me at the same time. 
> 
> Anyhoo, I tussled with this ficlet for a bit and was ridic grateful when Looneyngilo2 pinged me about podficcing the story after I waved my hands over at the Party Favour post. :D!
> 
> This collaboration also works as a fill for the prompt of "burns" for H/C bingo for lucifuge5, and the "tentacles" (Wild Card) Kink Bingo square for Looneyngilo2.


End file.
